perfect temperature, not too hot not too cold. used my singlespeed again and went the long way including steep uphills - the faster my legs move the easier it is :-)

acidfast7

04-24-14 05:01 AM

sick today :(

dcb23

04-24-14 05:04 AM

47F 8C headwind....watched a long column of College military students running down on the national mall.

essiemyra

04-24-14 05:20 AM

This is my first commute after our move of buying our house. It was a great commute as I have not ridden in about two weeks. The commute is six miles and heading east into the sun in the am and going west into the sun in the pm. I had the opposite ride before the move.

jrickards

04-24-14 06:18 AM

Cold again this morning, -4C/25F with a slight windchill but I felt it all as I was going down a hill at about 40kmh/25mph so I had to stop at the bottom and put my under-helmet beanie on. Not feeling that great this morning, physically drained and only got about 5hrs sleep (interrupted sleep on top of that) last night so I took the short route in, likely return the same way. I was hoping to be up to the full commuting distance (i.e., longest route) next week but it looks like I'll need at least another week to build up to it. At least it has been nice and sunny these last few days.

dramiscram

04-24-14 07:09 AM

Another cold and windy morning but at least the sun is out.

PennyTheDog

04-24-14 07:10 AM

Wow! I've seen a hawk that close, but not an eagle. Even though the one I saw was a lot farther away, the size was pretty impressive. While I was standing there watching it part of me wanted to just get out of there and find cover!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarwheel
(Post 16696390)

I was riding with a friend on a local MUT that parallels the Neuse River in our city a few months ago. We came upon a group of people who were looking at something off the trail, so we stopped to see what was going on. There were a pair of bald eagles roosting in a tree beside the river, not more than 50 feet away. One of them swooped down and grabbed a fish out of the river while we were watching. It's amazing how large they are when you see them up close.

tarwheel

04-24-14 07:14 AM

Another beautiful day but the morning temps were about 15 degrees colder than yesterday, in the low to mid-40s F. I'll take that over the gusty winds we had yesterday, which made my afternoon commute a real chore with headwinds the whole way home. Pollen levels have shot up again and I can't wait for that to end.

spivonious

04-24-14 07:32 AM

Last commute of the week (got the day off tomorrow). Nice ride in, but battled a 15mph headwind.

mgw4jc

04-24-14 08:08 AM

Ride home yesterday was uneventful. But after I got home my neighbor's car caught fire. It was at the end of the driveway so no structures were in danger. But a fire engine, a blocked road, a destroyed minivan and a burnt rubber smell in the air made for an interesting evening.

A little more crisp this morning with temps in the mid 40s instead of 50s. But a good ride none-the-less. Getting so many rides in per week allows me to pick when I feel like pushing the pace and when I'm good with just cruising along (provided I have the time to spare, of course). Today was a cruising along day.

arsprod

04-24-14 08:19 AM

Started out an uneventful, pleasant commute. About 2 miles from work I started getting texts from co-workers asking if I was ok. An adult cyclist was in an accident with a school bus near the part of town where I live. He's now subsequently died. The guy was in a bike lane, wearing a helmet, likely one of us regular commuters. His name's not been released yet and I'm hoping I didn't know him. I don't know about other places but bus drivers in Indy suck when it comes to bicycles. I'm hoping the driver is cited and there's a push for better training. Be careful!

azgreg

04-24-14 10:42 AM

Today was my first commute. 17 miles early in the morning (gotta be at work by 5:45). Gotta tell you I'm a little bushed, but it was fun.

RidingMatthew

04-24-14 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarwheel
(Post 16698039)

Another beautiful day but the morning temps were about 15 degrees colder than yesterday, in the low to mid-40s F. I'll take that over the gusty winds we had yesterday, which made my afternoon commute a real chore with headwinds the whole way home. Pollen levels have shot up again and I can't wait for that to end.

it is amazing to me how similiar the weather is between our two NC cities. 43 this AM when I left the house but I was thankful to not have to fit headwinds this morning.

I told my wife I would love to ride up the road before our street just once without fighting a headwind. EVERY RIDE FOR past 2 Years of commuting. BRUTAL.

I am trying to liquidate some stuff because I really would like a Salsa Vaya 2 for commuting and touring. Looks like a great bike and I am smitten by it.

joeyduck

04-24-14 01:30 PM

Third commute in two weeks, sick days, holidays, slept in days. It was nice to ride finally. I am always amazed at how my LHT handles so different without a load. I decided to remove my son's seat and lock it at daycare instead of schlepping it the 10+km to work like usual. I forget how spry the old LHT is without the extra weight, granted the bike and bags still weigh nearly 50 pounds, but losing the ~50 pounds of son and seat is a relief. It feels so different.

Someday I will buy a "light" bike to ride fast(er). And I will be "formidable" as the club leader I rode with a few weeks ago said.

Tractortom

04-24-14 02:11 PM

I'm on a roll. It doesn't sound like much to you hard core commuters out there, but I have ridden my bike to work the last five work days, and intend to add one more day tomorrow. The weather here in South Florida is starting to heat up in the afternoons, but the mornings are GOLDEN with temps around 60 and no wind. Today was just that, with a little breeze from the SE this afternoon to help me stay cooler on the way home in the 85 degree temps. Some rain forecast for the middle and end of next week, may break up my roll, but for the time being it's still going.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

dcb23

04-25-14 05:18 AM

1 Attachment(s)

53F 12C An absolutely beautiful spring morning. Lots of Aussies and Kiwis were out for Anzac day commemorations on the refecting pool, I hope my pic uploads.

Another interesting tidbit was the tractor trailer stuck under a very tight overpass/right turn...obviously he was a first time driver in the DC area (I assume) because no trucker in their right mind would ever attempt to make that turn. He was wedged in and bikers weere trying our best to snerak around him and avoid oncoming traffic. Poor guy.

A very nice commute this morning with the temp at 40f degrees when I left the house. Blue skies and the sun just starting up on the horizon. It was a very uneventful but nice commute. This new commute is a lot easier than my prior one as there are not as many hills. I will miss those hills!

Tractortom

04-25-14 05:51 AM

One word to describe this mornings commute to work...FOGGY. Not too bad down near the lake where I live, could see more than a half mile, but the closer I got to work, the thicker it go. That last mile and a half were just plain dangerous, with no visibility and lots of high speed traffic as I rolled along on the shoulder of the highway. Good temps, middle 60's and no wind of any kind, but plenty of humidity and plenty of fog.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

scottsmith

04-25-14 06:42 AM

At 3C it was chilly but still an excellent ride!

Safe passing traffic & a little but of sunshine!

mgw4jc

04-25-14 06:50 AM

Good ride home yesterday. Excellent riding weather.

53F this morning with major cloud cover, but no moisture yet. I suppose there is a chance of rain this afternoon. We'll see what happens. Normally I park my bike outside, locked to a light post. But my boss said if it looks like rain, I can bring it inside. So inside she sits today.

jrickards

04-25-14 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottsmith
(Post 16700706)

At 3C it was chilly but still an excellent ride!

Safe passing traffic & a little but of sunshine!

3C and that's were the similarities end: headwinds in every direction, a bit of sun at 6:30 when I drove my wife to work but when I got home to hop on my bike, overcast for the ride.

At least I don't live in the Thunder Bay area, they're expecting 15-20cm (6-8in) of wet snow today/tonight.

Halfgone

04-25-14 12:35 PM

Nice ride in. I took the MUPs today because I had an extra two minutes.... ended up needing longer than that d/t difficulty in crossing a couple main arteries, but oh well. Also, while I the MUP I saw firefighters/cops/EMTs working the scene where they pulled some bodies out of the drainage ditch. Good to know our quota has been met already. See the things I would've missed out on if I had driven?!?

Great ride home today, my legs are getting conditioned to pick the little boy up for the last half. I just hate all of the speed bumps that bounce my sons seat, if I do not slow way down it jars him a lot. A few times he clamped his teeth together hard. The problem stems from the fact I am only slow for those bumps and people try to pass me, only for me to be stuck behind them on narrow busy streets.

This morning was a beautiful ride, nice weather, no wind, and I was cruising fast and catching lights. I was so focused on the ride I forgot I was going to stop and get some left over Easter treats from the store for co-workers.

walrus1

04-25-14 03:53 PM

The fair weather crowd is out again and in great numbers than ever. Which means I'm seeing them do more stupid things then ever before. A guy on a hybrid bike cut me off then slam on his brakes so he could dismount his bike in the middle of the lane 25 feet later. I watched a lady on a bike today attempt to get around a car in a bike lane by swerving in front of an SUV and putting up her hand in stop motion. Thankfully the SUV was able to stop it's brakes before it hit her. She then almost hit the back on a Benz in the bike lane.

On the plus side my new Contour camera continues to serve me well! I'm just waiting to hear back from support about a purple dot that randomly appears in bright sunlight.

Halfgone

04-25-14 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walrus1
(Post 16702193)

The fair weather crowd is out again and in great numbers than ever.

Yeah, I couldn't believe how many other bicycles I saw today on my ride in. It'll just keep getting worse too. My poor MUP, over-run with other people :-D